All That They Needed
by atlas aire
Summary: 5 Parts: There were a lot of reasons why Pietro and Laura shouldn't have gotten together, but all they needed were the few reasons to stay together. Jonda and other couples mentioned. Complete
1. Chapter 1

**Important info: **X-23 is mostly based of her comic version. As much as I loved the episode where she first came in, I love the comic version of her. She knew Matt Murdock. Tell me that that isn't awesome. (I'm lame, I know.)

**Disclaimer:** The author (moi) of the fanfiction does not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters in the _Marvel Universe_ belong to their original creators. In fact, the author isn't really getting any profit from anything she does lately, so even if you sue, you won't be getting' much...

**All That They Needed**

_Part 1_

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It really started with that one night.

_"Who are you?"_

The question was mostly just to stall, until Wanda came, or until Lance woke up. And they both knew that. She didn't grin, or laugh at the question. Eyes red, deep frown, she only growled. Then she launched herself on him. Pietro did the only thing he could do._ He ran. _He didn't go far, he wanted her to go after him. The others was still knocked out. There was no doubt in his mind about her intentions. _She was going to kill them._

He was in the forest, leaning against a tree, trying calm himself. He was no good if he was panicking. He could hear her coming. She was quiet, trying to sneak up on him, but Pietro could hear her. If he lived through this, he told himself, he would thank Mystique and his dad for the training.

The rain was pouring harder then, beating down his bare back and soaking his pajama pants. He wondered how long it would take 'till morning came. He wondered if the other's were up yet. He wondered why she was coming after him, who sent her and why. The Brotherhood has been good. They've been under the radar. There was no reason for anyone to come after them now. Then the first hit came.

Pietro barely missed it. Her claws grazed his chest. Two slashes on his chest, a stinging sensation starting from the cuts then surging through his body. His arms automatically went to cover the wound on his chest in an attempt to stop the blood from coming out. And that's when she pounced on him. One hand was on his neck, and Pietro opened his mouth to get some air in. The only thing he got was rainwater. He heard the _snikt_ of her claws, recognizing the sound from somewhere, from some_one_, and closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come for him.

_Nothing happened._

The hand on his neck suddenly loosened and he could hear those claws re-enter. The weight of the girl shifted from his chest to the lower part of his stomach, Pietro cringed as this happened. Pietro started coughing; the water from the rain was getting stuck in his throat. Started coughing harder. It hurt to cough and both the weight on his stomach, the rain that was beating down on him was not helping.

The weight left him completely, and Pietro could feel the girl sit him up. There was one hand beating on his back and one hand on his chest, holding him up. It hurt, the hands on his wounds and the beating on his back, but it was effectively getting the water out of his throat.

That was the first time he met her. They spent about ten minutes sitting out there in the rain as Pietro coughed. She sat there, rubbing his back, trying to calm him down. He remembered that neither of them said anything and he still remembered the throbbing pain coming from his chest. And that was when Wanda and the other's came looking for him, she left.

The second time the two met was about a few months after their first encounter. Pietro was sitting on the porch of the boarding house, waiting for his sister to come back from her first date with that crazy red-headed Aussie. Enough time spent with Wanda taught Pietro that his twin was more than capable of taking care of herself but that didn't stop him from worrying. Especially since he spent enough time with those Acolytes to know just how _they_ operated. He saw her from the corner of his eyes, staring at her. Didn't say anything. There was nothing to say to her. Nothing polite anyway.

She was hiding behind a tree, but Pietro knew she was watching the place for longer than that. Could tell that she wanted him to see her too. She started walking towards him, and the only thing he could do was tense up, get ready to run, in case she decided to attack him again. Forced himself to at least relax when she sat down next to him. If the girl wanted to kill him, she would have done it long before that.

He couldn't bring himself to look at her. Not even when she laid her hand on his chest. instead, he placed his hand on top of hers, pressing his thumbs against her knuckles. The small pinch he felt on his thumb confirmed the one thought he had about her. Then did he look at her.

"X-23."

"Not any more. Laura."

Pietro nodded, looked away from her, and released her hand. Felt the warmth of her hand as she laid it on his chest again.

"Doesn't hurt any more, if you're wondering," his voice was barely a whisper.

"I don't even remember doing it..."

"Then how did you even..."

"Kitty."

Another nod. They spent that time just sitting there, staring at the wind pick up the leaves and the sun set. The sun was just over the horizon when Pietro had let out a sigh.

"She's not coming..."

"Who?"

"My sister..."

"That's bad?"

"She's on a date."

"Oh."

Pietro looked over at Laura, taking in her features. When he first saw her, she looked so angry... so wild. Here she was, with the calmest look on her face. Hair flying a bit in the wind, Pietro wondered if it was as soft as it looked. The first time he saw her, her eyes were so hard, and angry. She was literally seeing red. The eyes Pietro saw that day were just relaxing. That first time he met her, the only feeling she gave him was fear, curiosity, and anger. Now the only thing that was left was the curiosity. _Why was she here? _She locked eyes with him at that last thought. And these piercing green eyes stayed on icy blue ones. And the only thing that Pietro could think of was of how beautiful he thought those eyes were.

**0o0o0**

There were other times when the two bumped into each other after that day. Like those times when Lance dragged Pietro and Toad to the mall when he and Kitty got into some stupid fight – though he made up some bull on how he needed new socks... God, he was such a bad actor – and they would, for some strange reason, bump into Kitty with a few other of the other institute kids, one of them being Laura. While Lance and Kitty argued, Pietro and Laura would have a small conversation.

And when Mystique came back with the Acolytes, the Brotherhood saw a lot more of the X- Men. Pietro learned that Laura didn't really fight up to her full potential on these fights. She really just sat back and watched the two teams fight. Pietro, after a while, started following her example. And then she started visiting him more often. As in going to the boarding house, and staying a while.

And that freaked the X-men out. The brotherhood were much more... tolerant. What with Kitty getting back together with Lance and Rogue flirting with Gambit _and_ being friends with Wanda. Hell, even Pietro and Wanda's dad was considering joining up with the X-men. The problem was that even though the X-men wanted unity, they only wanted people to unite with _them_. Stuck up pricks.

Laura didn't mind. Because Wolverine didn't care (or didn't show it). That relaxed Pietro enough. Laura may be younger than Kitty and Rogue, but she was a whole lot smarter than the both of them. Laura came over after school, watched TV with Pietro and Lance until Kitty came and dragged the earth shaker away. Pietro and Laura would spend that time talking. About everything and anything. Pietro loved it; those were the most interesting conversations that he ever had. Sometimes Wanda and John would join and if the conversation was really good, so would Gambit and Piotr. By then, Rogue would have came to pick up Laura and Kitty but she would end up staying longer than intended, courtesy of Gambit. That left a lot more time that Pietro spent with Laura.

When winter time came around, Pietro was just escatic. Most of the X-men would have left the institute to visit family. Wanda would go with John to the small apartment that he had rented, Gambit would have went down to New Orleans or something but this time he stayed around. Toad and Freddy disappeared somewhere and Lance had left for business or something (probably had nothing better to do but didn't want to stay here). That just left Pietro and Gambit at the place. When the break from school came, both men had been visited by Laura and Rogue.

"Had no place ta go," said the Rogue.

They spent that time just watching movies, joking around, and playing cards. Wasn't that fun. Pietro had found that Remy was an exceptional cook and that he had enough talent that he didn't even need to cheat, that Rogue was an extremely good dancer and was just good a thief as the Cajun. And that Laura could speak Romanian along with over 50 languages.

Wanda could only speak fragments of Romanian. Enough to cuss a person out and find out where the bathroom is. Magneto retained a lot of the Romanian language as well as Pietro, but both never really bothered to use it as much. Nobody to talk to with it.

The two X-girls decided to stay for one weekend before deciding to return back to the institute. Neither men complained. Remy had the idea of going out Christmas shopping, and they all agreed. They all went to the mall then the two Southerners ditched Pietro and Laura.

"I'm hungry," Pietro muttered.

"Then you should eat," was Laura's reply.

"I don't like mall food."

Laura looked over at Pietro, Pietro just avoided her gaze. She had this really irritating way of threatening the speedster with just one look. It was like Wanda's except for it was scarier. With him not looking at Laura, he didn't see her hand stretch out to grab his. She yanked at his arm, leading him to food court.

"Hey!" came Pietro's startled shout, a few people passing by looked at the couple.

"Come on, I'll even pay," Laura grinned.

"I eat a lot," Pietro couldn't help but say.

"So does Kurt."

The amount of money spent that day was a little over $500. Turns out Laura was pretty loaded. And Pietro ate more than Kurt. They had gotten presents for people in the institute, the Brotherhood and a few others. Laura had asked Pietro to take her to Hell's Kitchen to deliver one of the presents. Pietro had met the guy once before, but from where he couldn't remember. Then she asked to go to the X-District to deliver another present; the person was never there. There were the dozens of trips down town and the three other trips as well. For a seemly anti-social person, Laura knew a hell of a lot of people. Pietro felt like a horse or something. But at the end, it sort of seemed worth it. That was the happiest Laura has been in quite a while.


	2. Chapter 2

**All That They Needed**

_Part 2_

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During the summer, Laura managed to get a boyfriend. That sort of upset Pietro a bit.

Okay, _a lot._

To keep his mind off of things, Pietro started spending time with Tabitha more. Laura noticed this. So did a lot of other people.

"You _like_ her." John was staring at Pietro. Pietro was staring at the TV.

"No, I don't."

"You do!" came John's excited shout. Wanda was coming out from the kitchen, staring at both boys.

"What are you going on about now?" Wanda looked more than bored.

"Pietro likes Laura."

"No, I don't!"

"The girl who keeps on coming over here?"

"Yep!"

"I don't like her!"

"So that's her name..."

Pietro could only groan.

"Gonna ask 'er out?" John looked at Pietro expectantly.

"She has a boyfriend," he muttered.

"Didn't stop me from trying to date Wanda."

Wanda came to sit on John's lap, "It really didn't." John, in turn wrapped his arms around her hips and started nuzzling her neck.

"Victor was an asshole. You didn't even want him, Wanda."

"I wanted him, but needed John more." Pietro saw John grin.

"Ugh, PDA," Pietro frowned, "I thought you were above that, Wanda." He got up and headed towards the stairs.

"At least I'm not miserable..."

"But you _are_ crazy," he muttered, shaking his head.

Pietro made it into the safety of his room. He kept the lights off, in a very lame attempt to fall asleep. It could have been maybe less than a few minutes (or maybe hours), Pietro could hear his door open. He didn't bother opening his eyes; he knew who it was. Pietro turned on his side. He felt the hand on his cheek, the intentions laced behind the gesture. He felt the soft lips touch his and he couldn't help but grin. Wondered briefly if Laura was having as much fun as he was going to have. Pietro leaned up on the bed and kissed back, letting his hands run through short locks. He moved onto his back, bringing the girl with him, on top of him. She pushed him deeper into the bed, started attacking his neck with kisses and nips, making him groan.

"Tabs..."

He could feel her grin on his neck, her hands slipping under his shirt, cold hands sending shivers down his spine. His hands were on her waist, going up, dragging her shirt along with them. He was talking again, too fast for her to understand, too slurred for him to remember. She started grinding against him, whispering against him.

She was going to leave soon. She had to get away for a while. She'd visit. She'll miss him.

"_You'renother..._" No pause in her movements; she couldn't understand him. Or chose to ignore him. His shirt was off by now, touching her as much as she was touching him. Licking and kissing her.

Wishing she was someone else.

**OoOoO**

Pietro liked Laura.

For the fastest man in like, the world, he was pretty slow.

And that was an oxymoron.

It was horrible thing to realize. Liking Laura. Especially since the girl still had a boyfriend. Then there was the fact that for the past few months, Pietro has said that he's only liked Laura as a friend and only as a friend. His best friend even.

_What a scary thought._

Pietro found himself comparing Laura with everyone and everything. The way she became quiet when she was upset. Wanda gets violent when she was upset. Tabitha gets loud. Kitty varies, depending on the situation. Mystique was The Bride. The fact that he knew nobody else who had green eyes like hers. The fact that she was such an experienced person compared to most of those new mutants in the institute. The fact that she didn't get intimidated much.

She didn't visit him as much, probably busy with her new boyfriend or with the team. Not that he made himself approachable. He was snapping more at people than when Wanda first came from that mental place. And that was saying something. His negative mood didn't mess him up during the missions. In fact, it made him a whole lot better. He had something to keep him distracted.

"You're not getting' laid or somethin', mate?" Pyro came up to him after a mission.

"None of your business," was his curt reply.

"He's still on that X-girl, yo." Todd was hopping on Pietro's right side.

"No, I'm not."

"Then why's your face red," Lance said, coming behind him.

"Just came from a mission," Pietro said with a dark glare, "I'm supposed to be this way."

"Please," Lance laughed, "You barely break a sweat on these missions."

Pietro tried to hold in a frustrated groan, this must be pay back for bugging him about Kitty. _Oh God_, he thought, _Karma came in the form of a sewer rat!_

"Dude," Todd said, "You seriously like her."

"No," Pietro said with a little more force, "I don't."

"She probably likes you too, Pietro," Wanda muttered.

"She has a boyfriend."

"Doesn't mean a thing. He's probably a red herring."

"A what?"

"A distraction. Remember when I started dating Vision?"

A sour feeling just surged through Pietro, "How can I forget?"

"Yeah, that was around the same time when John started ignoring me," Wanda replied. John looked stricken.

"That was only because –"

"– Because of my father, I know," Wanda muttered, "but you see what I'm getting at right?"

Pietro raised an eyebrow at his twin, "Laura's dating... him because she's trying to keep her mind off of me?"

Wanda walked beside her brother to give him a pat on the head, "You're getting smarter."

"Couldn't she just ask –"

"No," Wanda interrupted.

"God," Pietro moaned, "Women are so damn irritating."

This got a "tell me about it" from all the Brotherhood males.


	3. Chapter 3

**All That They Needed**

_Part 3_

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Pietro rarely slept for a whole night. Not even after missions. It was just in his nature.

Laura was the same as well, except she slept a few more hours longer than Pietro did.

Most nights, Pietro and Laura would just meet up over at the boarding house and just talk. About anything. They usually talked about trivial things, like the weather and random news stories. Somehow, those conversation starters led to philosophical debates. Pietro usually lost on most of them. Where both of them saw the little shades of grey between the black and white, Laura _understood_ the grey areas. It was one of the many things Pietro both envied and loved about her.

But this night, this night was different.

Laura just wasn't in the mood for talking. The girl looked so broken. Yet she still tried to act normal.

Either Laura's acting was getting bad or she was really, _really_ miserable.

And before Laura could give him a greeting, Pietro asked what was wrong.

She didn't reply, she just walked up to him and hugged the speedster, catching him completely off guard. She wasn't crying (and for that he was eternally grateful. 'Cause seriously, dealing with crying women was so _not_ his thing), just shaking. Pietro could only hold on the girl and go down to the ground with her when her legs seemed to just give out. Pietro thought she heard her say something, but with her face buried in her chest, the words were just jumbled.

"What?"

Laura brought her face up, "He cheated on me." Her voice was no louder than a whisper. Pietro didn't know what to say. If he said that she deserved better than him, Laura would probably defend him. If he said that maybe what she saw or heard really wasn't true, not only would he never forgive himself for pretty much sending her back to him, he'd have the whole Brotherhood on his ass for months (years, with the way Lance and Wanda held grudges).

Pietro remembered that time when Laura that boyfriend of hers got into their first fight. The girl was a cross between pissed and hurt. "_The first time we met, he asked who I was. But last night, he asked __**what**__ I was,_" she had said. Back then, he did all the _wrong_ things, and she didn't talk to him for months.

Green eyes bore into blue ones and the couple sat there staring at each other. Pietro closed his eyes, unable to look her in the eyes for such a long period of time especially with the thoughts that were going through his head. He could hear Laura sigh, feel her breath against his skin, bring up other thoughts that he really didn't need to be thinking of. Pietro pulled away completely.

"Let's go inside then." Pietro smiled, "It's close to morning and I'm an incredible cook."

**OoOoO**

Laura could only smile at her friend. It seems that everyday she was learning something new from him. During her time working for HYDRA, she had picked up a lot of new talents but she had to admit, Pietro was one hell of a cook. Better than she was. Laura smiled as the silver haired mutant started humming as he cooked breakfast for the rest of the Brotherhood residents. It was a strange melody, Laura thought. One she that she couldn't even guess where he got it from. She would have to ask him about that melody later.

"Do you want me to make coffee or something," Pietro asked without turning around.

"No... I'm not a big fan of coffee."

"Shame," came a voice from behind her.

Laura knew that somebody was coming, but Pietro didn't have her type of abilities; he jumped with a slight yelp. Pyro seemed to notice this as he grinned at the raven haired mutant, as if to say "look at this guy". Laura smiled back.

"Coffee's just about the best substance on earth."

"When made right," came the tired female voice behind the pyromaniac.

"Wanda, luv! You're awake." The red haired Aussie leaned down to give the girl a kiss but she turned away.

"Didn't brush my teeth," Wanda murmured.

"Never stopped me before," he replied as he tilted the girl's head towards him to give her a small chaste kiss. Pietro, Laura and Pyro grinned at the completely dazed look on the woman's face. There was a slight red ting to her cheeks and Laura could smell just how much the kiss affected her. _If only..._

Laura turned away in an attempt to stop the thought that entered her mind, only to find that Pietro was looking at her. Such a beautiful shade of blue, those eyes of his had. And those eyes momentarily were filled with a _warmth_ that Laura couldn't even _try_ to describe. She wondered what exactly she did to deserve such a look from Pietro. Said mutant looked away, tending to the food on the stove.

Wanda and Pyro went over to sit at the small table next to each other, on Laura's right. Laura noticed how Wanda kept her boyfriend away from the stove.

"Pietro, would you mind –"

"– Black, right?"

"Yeah."

"How 'bout you, John?"

"Same."

"'Kay, jus' give me a sec."

The two nodded, then sort of drifted into their own little world. Pietro gave the couple a glance and laughed.

"Ah, Jonda. Such a strange couple they make," he said offhandedly.

"A _perfect_ couple!" John barked.

With a smile, Laura couldn't help but agree.


	4. Chapter 4

**All That They Needed**

_Part 4/Interlude_

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Laura stared at the sky, head lying on Pietro's lap. They were out in the forest, in a clearing, relaxing. Though Laura could feel Pietro vibrating a bit. She was still waiting for his answer.

"I... honestly don't know."

"Been around, huh?"

"Yeah," Pietro let out a small laugh, "You can say that."

"Who were the ones who stood out the most?"

Laura knew Pietro was smiling even though she wasn't looking at him.

"You really wanna know?"

Laura hummed the affirmative. A slight hesitation on his part.

"Well there was Tabby. The girl knew how to have fun and was one hell of a kisser. That and she was one of the few who stood up to Mystique."

"Aside from Wanda," Laura added, closing her eyes.

"Aside from Wanda."

"Anyone else?"

"Yeah, Jean-Paul."

"Northstar?"

"Yep. Was totally born for sex." Pietro let out a sigh. Laura didn't know what to say. She did wonder if any of those times, the people he fucked were as good as he made it sound. Or if he was just a good liar.

"Do you remember the others?"

"Faces, yes. Names no." Figures.

"Was there anybody else?"

"Yeah, a few." Laura could feel Pietro tense a little underneath her. She wanted to know, but not if he was uncomfortable.

"Crystal," Pietro answered for her "Next to Jean-Paul, Crystal was one of the first actual relationships I had. You know, one that involved emotions and stuff. Then there was Johnny Storm. Which is funny 'cause Crystal and Johnny use to date."

A few X-Men, a fellow Brotherhood member, the ex-girlfriend of one of the Fantastic Four, who he also use to date... And it was just... just...

Laura opened her eyes, "Wow."

"Yep."

"One more question."

"Ask away."

"Out of all of these people, who was at the top of your list?"

Laura could tell that he was grinning now. His body was more relaxed.

"Jean-Paul, without a doubt. Tabby 'n' I were "together" just to get over past relationships and Crystal and I... we weren't meant to be. Jean-Paul was – is – just about he greatest person that a guy could ever get with." There was that scent on him again.

"It was just the sex, wasn't it?"

"It was 'mazing sex. Mind blowing sex. But this guy he's like my best friend. Kinda person you just don't forget. The kinda person that you don't _want_ to forget. Kinda like you."

And even though though Laura knew that that was just another line he was giving her, she couldn't stop the warm smile that crept up on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

**All That They Needed**

_Part 5_

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Pietro was incredibly clean, and extremely organized. Laura could only guess that he got from having a megalomaniac for a dad.

Even for a person like him, there seemed to a mall level of obsessiveness in everything he did. It was a strange thing that she noticed in him. Laura liked being efficient, but Pietro liked being perfect. And his vision of perfect didn't include "being happy" in it.

There was that look of longing she saw in his eyes when he was looking at the couples of the Brotherhood home. A look that he sometimes gave her. There was that look of utter disappointment and anger that crossed his face whenever his father was even mentioned.

The way he talked about how he felt about his sister's memory sweep. The fear of being found out, of what would happen between his sister and her boyfriend, of what would happen between him and his sister. The guilt that laid underneath.

Sometimes he didn't even have to do anything because the emotions he were feeling were so palpable that Laura could pretty much taste them. Her cocky little speed demon was depressed. And knowing that made her depressed.

One night, when the other's where asleep, Laura decided to hang out at the boarding house. When she got there, Wanda had informed her that she couldn't have came at better time. Pietro was zipping around, just cleaning things. Wanda stopped Pietro a few times, but every time attention was drawn away from Pietro, he just went back to whatever he was doing.

Pietro stopped for Laura. She suspected that he was tiring out though. All members of the brotherhood household stood circled Pietro and Laura.

"Pietro," she called out to him. He had a dazed look on his face when he met her gaze.

"Come here, Pietro," she commanded softly. She started going to him when Pietro didn't move.

"Come here," she repeated, wrapping her arms around him. She nuzzled her head in the crook of Pietro's neck when he hugged her back. Slowly the others started filling out. Wanda gave Laura a meaningful look then walked up the stairs.

Laura brought Pietro outside and they both sat on the steps. Pietro was still holding onto her and Laura allowed that. Right now, he needed comfort. Something to keep him grounded. And right now, that something was Laura.

"It's not right," Pietro said. It took a second for Laura to realize that he wasn't speaking English.

"What isn't right?"

"This."

"And what is this," Laura asked as she ran her hands through his hair. For the amount of hair products the guy put on his hair, it felt surprisingly soft.

"This... friendship," he replied, looking up at her.

Laura bit her lip, hurt.

"And why is that?"

"I want more."

And then he kissed her.

**OoOoO**

Both didn't instantly jump into a relationship, as the majority of the Brotherhood expected. They just did what the usually did. But that didn't mean that nothing changed.

Those looks of longing and warmth increased. And the two smiled more. Laura was more welcoming when she was away from Pietro. Pietro was less stiff when Laura left his company. And the pair spent more nights together.

Wanda and John understood that the two wanted to take what ever they called their relationship a little slow. All that time spent pining after something and then finally getting it... it was like a fairytale ending. Extremely unreal. Having been in the same position before, the decided to not tease the couple.

Lance and Kitty knew that they were reluctant to become physical. In a relationship that was purely emotional, and extremely mental, becoming more physical brought on a few complications that they weren't quite ready to deal with. As a couple that was broken up due to those problems, they let Pietro and Laura know that they were there if they needed counseling.

Remy and Rogue knew that the two weren't ready to call themselves a couple because of their alliances. When Rogue and Remy started off, the biggest problem was dealing with their respective families' opinions. Rogue had to deal with the golden couple (Jean and Scott) a brother's worry, and the short Canadian with andamantiam claws. And Remy had to deal with the couple that could simultaneously read his mind and blast him five miles away with freaky eyes, a demon-like creature that teleport him to who knows where, and a short Canadian that could hack his head off. Knowing the turmoil that the couple must be going through, Rogue and Remy let them know that they had their support.

And in the end, that was all the couple needed.

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**A/N:**Started this one way back in February of '07. Then forgot it. Looked at it again, finished it. Edited it,then forgot about it. And here I am. Ha. I'm lame. And very rusty (jeez, I swear, I just type for the fun of it). I'm gonna work on another one. I need something to do.

References to:

Kill Bill (a kick ass movie), Birds of Prey (the WB show), the fanfic "Here Comes Trouble" by Beaubier. (Thank the powers that be for that fic.) And a few others...


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